Startup marketing manager (profile) focused on helping small businesses across America survive and thrive through the power of online marketing. Expert in online search, display, retargeting, mobile, and social media.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Starblazers: Space Battleship Yamato Teaser Trailer

A big fan of the animated Starblazer series in the late 70's? Now, a live action remake. Looks a bit like the recent Battlestar Galactica remake, doesn't it?

Monday, December 21, 2009

Top photo: Will's cousins (Kalina and Cole) enjoying the fresh show in Westport, CT over the weekend. Jealous!

Yes, I know. Week 4, 8, 12, etc. should be a working recovery week. But, with the holidays ahead and a block of time with family up in Williamsburg, VA, I'm front-loading some extra workouts to keep my metabolism high. And, working through mental exercises to keep away from the "bad" foods that are bound to be close at hand. Think clean (eating) thoughts!

Rocked Chest and Back, post-swimming at the YMCA for 3 hours with David/Noah and William/I. Really felt the swimming -- rough stuff if you're not used to it/haven't done it for a while!

Enjoy the start of the final week before Friday's Christmas celebration, then on to New Year's.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Had a rare evening out last night, caught Avatar in 2D at the local theater. Excellent, excellent movie. If you're into scifi, liked Aliens (think military scifi alien goodness), you'll love it. I don't think the "tree hugger" story line was *that* over the top. Just know going in that Mr. Cameron wants you to respect nature over profit. Fine with me.

Just do yourself a favor -- he shot it to be best seen in 3D. So be sure you're seeing it that way. Go for the IMAX 3D experience near you. 2D on opening night = good. IMAX 3D? Insanely better/great I'm sure.

Late night, rehydrating after a visit to the local watering hole post-movie -- thanks Jim -- and will pick up the workouts tomorrow.

Enjoy your last weekend before Christmas folks. In a great mood for sure!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Caught myself a bit of celebrity rash yesterday. You know, the kind you get when you rub shoulders with someone famous, in their own way. In my case, it was an email exchange with one Mark Briggs, one of the workout buddies of Tony Horton, the man behind P90X, P90X+, One on One with, well, Tony Horton, etc.

Mark is one of the main guys working out, hard, behind Tony in the P90X+ series of DVDs. Think of P90X+ as what's "next" after that final week of "rest" at the end of P90X. You're at the top of your game, your body is ready for MORE, and Tony and Mark are standing ready to help you get to the next level.

I reached out to Mark, one of my BeachBody coach/FaceBook friends, to ask him about his crazy ripped abs. "I've done all the programs," I said. "But I still can't see my abs. Help!"

He responded fast -- asking for my height, weight, and a rough outline of what I'd been eating/intake levels. No problem, thanks to my fitday.com logging over the past months/in 2009.

An hour later, the response.

Basically, I'm under eating. What I'd been thinking about for some time.

His take -- I need to get my calories up to 2,600 to lose weight/not cause my body to store weight to fight against my workout gains/start to see my spare tire remnant go away, and hit 3,200 calories to simply maintain what I've got.

Plus, kill DAIRY and go all-supplements for calcium and Vita D. No problem.

Simple. Not so simple is getting my brain around those numbers. It's easy to get trapped in the mantra of eat less, workout more, push, push, and go crazy.

No more. Come New Year's, it's time to downshift and start tracking my food again, and get my calories UP.

Took a shortened version of this today -- amazing how much different I feel during Week 3 vs Week 1. Week 1 = could barely get down to do my salutations. Arms/shoulders were nearly locked up and sore. In Week 3? Easy as pie, barely any soreness at all.

Goes to show you -- work your body people, 30-60 minutes a day. You WILL loosen things up. Your body was designed to be put through its paces. Bring it!

Shaun T's one-off "let's go to the gym and film a weight lifting workout and I'll use my iPod as a timer" is not bad at all. Lots of new moves, his signature warm up, even some tough words for his male side kick to hurry up and get in place... faster. Ok, OK, sure thing.

Left it feeling pretty darn good, and lots of heavy weights hoisted to max out reps. Heart rate was elevated, brought the burn, perfect.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Almost forgot that this 50 minute-ish gem has no breaks. None. It's all about bringing it hardcore cardio style and upping your ability to cope. Over the entire workout. Ended a sweaty mess, with a pretty nasty back twinge near the end. Stretched it out, all good.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Welcome to Week 3 ladies and gents. A mere 30ish more to go on this monster hybrid. Love it. The push ups were within normal range of motion, the pull ups felt great (still using a chair early on) and, best of all, my shiny new 50 pound free weight makes the lawnmowers the high point of the workout.

VERY heavy, 10-15 reps per side, tend to leave the weight on the ground, get up, and feel a bit sick to my stomach. Not a great feeling, but I think my body is telling me, "Ok, you brought it. Leave me alone." Will do, pause, breathe, onward...

Good old Saturday wake up call -- Kenpo Karate for the cardio win. It's a bit short, and honestly not all that hard. BUT it does make me sweat, and getting some punches/kicks out of the ol' system is great stuff.

Off to downtown Cary later this morning to set up our Cub Scout Pack 218 float, then parade at 2. COLD one ahead here in NC for sure. Brrrrr....

Slotted this leg/upper body cardio insanity instead of Legs & Back P90X today -- nice. Big time sweat, brought myself to the brink a few times, ended with maxed out muscles and able to handle to breath work. Nice.

P90Xers out there, I outright challenge you to pick up Shaun T's crazy-good cardio thrill ride otherwise known as Insanity! and give it a go.

I'm slotting it into my cardio-heavy days in this hybrid go-round and even this early into 32 weeks, wow...

My legs/arms/chest are stronger than ever, and I can feel myself pushing harder through the moves thanks to the combination. For sure. That doesn't mean I didn't have to add in some extra breaks, and felt very maxed out at the end, trailed off a bit in the last 12 minutes or so. I did.

Happy Monday, P90X Chest and Back. Brought it with Tony and crew, push ups and pull up heaven. MUCH better results than last week, still came out the other side with quivering arms, easier to reach for a plate/breakfast.

And great news -- saw my lil' brother's tweet -- he's joining the ranks of P90X come 1.1.10 -- great start date! Take it from me, an original 1.1 starter of Power 90 and P90X a few years back. You CAN make New Year's commitments and keep them. Year after year... Nice!

Friday, December 04, 2009

Fun Stairs: Encouraging exercise...

In one of Tony Horton's One on One workouts he mentions going to the airport and noticing only himself and a few other people using the stairs. Everyone else? On the people movers and escalators. "Use the stairs people! Every little calorie counts!"

Amen. I've followed his advice on all my travels -- even when I have a tight gate change. SPRINT, run up the stairs, on and on. Nice.

Which brings us to the video above, done by some creative folks in Europe. Imagine if we had more stairs retrofitted to be fun/make burning a few extra calories a cause for a smile or two, some musicality, as well as getting us to where we need to go?

Love it!

More on my current approach to working out, with Beachbody products, combining P90X, P90X+, Insanity, and yes, some of Tony's One on One workouts:

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Thanks Tony... After three initial days of tough workouts, the Yoga routine hits at the perfect time. My arms/sides are sore. First thing in the morning, stiffness, start up this routine barely able to get through the first downward dogs and push ups. After 10-15 minutes, it gets easier. Then, 30 minutes in or so, relief. I can do it! Still sore, but it's not stopping me from a nearly full movement.

Am I grunting and verbalizing through all this? Yes.

So much so, Mittens decided to camp at the head of my Yoga mat to mess with my Chi. Made me laugh, her playful swipes at my downward head kept things light, and I made it through an hour plus of the routine.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Started the stretch very, very sore. The Monday chest/back blaster = tons of upper body work right out the gate. Yesterday's crazy cardio helped a bit, but, it took about 50% of today's workout before my upper body was down to about 10-20% soreness.

Did all the moves with 20's and 12's, taking it a bit easy here in the first pair of weeks or so. Have to get this bod out of its two week break, back up to speed, then... 30ish weeks to go on the new plan. Love, it.

Are you pushing through your perceived limitations, and soreness, in all areas of your life?

Monday, November 30, 2009

Two weeks off. Long time coming. Many rounds of P90X. A P90X+. ChaLEAN Extreme. Insanity. All behind me. I've experienced all the workouts, found some too easy, some just right. All fat-burning and body-shaping in their own way.

With all that experience behind me, it's time to combine the best of the best into a fat burning, muscle-building hybrid Frankenstein monster known as my X-1-sane BeachBody Hybrid (view it/print it). That's a mashup of P90X/P90X+, One on One with Tony Horton, and Insanity.

Basically, following the cadence of the programs, but slot new and different routines in the cardio/lifting slots. Mix and match. Keep the tempo high, the breaks in place every three weeks of craziness, and kick it up a notch by adding a serious Sat. workout with a recovery on Sunday. You'll get the hang of it. And so will I.

Day 1 of my 39th year on the planet today. Feeling solid, recovered from two earned weeks away, and ready to shake and bake the next 30 weeks on my own program to keep things interesting and my body changing.

Click the links above every week or so to be sure you benefit from any updates/tweaks I make. I'm sure I will.

Hope you and yours had an awesome Thanksgiving. Here's to a solid end to 2009, and a very, very productive 2010. Do you have what it takes to get into the best shape of your life?

Legal Disclaimer

The views expressed on my blog and other social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are entirely my own, and do not represent those of my employer, family, friends, or anyone else currently alive. Or dead.